Avalon Academy2: From Johnny's Place to Eternity
by Angel H
Summary: Elisa has been attending Avalon Academy for almost two weeks now. A not-so-small vignette about her day-to-day life. She makes some new friends…and meets some old foes.


**"****Avalon****Academy**** 2: From 'Johnny's Place' to Eternity"**

**by** Angel R. Harris****

Disclaimer: All the characters appearing in Gargoyles and Gargoyles: The Goliath Chronicles are copyright Buena Vista Television/The Walt Disney Company.  
No infringement of these copyrights is intended, and is not authorized by the copyright holder. All original characters are the property of Angel R. Harris.

Summary: Elisa has been attending Avalon Academy for almost two weeks now. A not-so-small vignette about her day-to-day life. She makes some new friends…and meets some old foes. 

*******Inspired by _The Torn Skirt by Rebecca Godfrey, motivated by…well, you'll see!_

*****

"In my writing group, we have a ritual; we each hold up our pieces of writing before we start to read and announce, 'This is a piece of shit.' Everyone nods in agreement, and says, 'Yeah, yeah, now get on with it.'"

 - Elaine Farris Hughes, Writing from the Inner Self

*****

            Simple, yet complex. How else could one describe the intricacies of the perfect pizza pie? The crispy outer crust giving way to the soft bread underneath…the sweet and tangy sauce teasing your tongue…the just-right warmth of melted cheese caressing the roof of your mouth and sliding lazily down your throat…Elisa held the once-bitten slice lovingly in both hands. She closed her eyes and smelled the smoky aroma of the old brick oven. Elisa carefully set the slice back on her plate and took a brief swig of her soft drink. She allowed the brisk feeling of tiny carbonated bubbles tickle her insides and wash away the stress of the past week. 

            Elisa picked up her pizza and casually began to munch on her afternoon snack while she studied the environment around her. The fourteen year-old girl used to patronize this diner on the days when she felt like being anonymous. Although it was only a few blocks away from her old school, she took comfort in the fact that she wouldn't be seen by any of her former classmates. The pupils of P.S. 129 preferred to frequent the bodegas and convenience stores that lined the street in front of the school. Or, if the need arose to feel trendier-than-thou, they would visit the former bistro-turned-casual al fresco café directly above the nearby subway station. 

            Elisa preferred the quiet of Johnny's Place to those other teenybopper hangouts. It was nestled in the middle of a neighborhood that always seemed to be covered in a large blanket of gray shadows. The streets were always wet despite the absence of any rainfall. All of the noises in the area were suffocated by low-hanging white clouds. The cute, fluffy mounds of floating cotton mocked the weary dispositions of Johnny's customers. (By the way, there is no "Johnny". There's just a couple of surly waitresses, a cook, a dishwasher, and a cantankerous and tired old man with the weight of an inherited – but unwanted – diner on his shoulders.)

            Elisa recognized many of the customers from the days that seemed so long ago. She had found Johnny's Place accidentally when she tried to lose herself after an especially difficult afternoon in detention. The cool shadows had comforted her and the lumpy, beige booths with red trim beckoned her through the window. When she had walked through the door, a couple of worn, tired faces glanced up at her from behind hunched shoulders. The two men sat at rusty barstools and looked as if they were slowly melting onto the surface of the counter. The one sitting closest to door had quickly averted the teenager's eyes and slurped his thick, black coffee. The second one had stared directly through her. Not quite recognizing the figure before him, he had given her a curt nod and returned his gaze to the soulless abyss in the mug in front of him. That had been Elisa's typical greeting every time she entered the diner. This time, however, their reaction was different.

            When Elisa stood in the doorway wearing her sharp new uniform and carrying rays of blue sunshine in her hair that belied the bleakness outside, the first man continued to stare at her with wide eyes. The second one had taken a brief look at her, _*harrumphed*, and turned his back on her forever. As she silently watched the pair now, she noticed the "Door Man" slowly peek at her over his shoulder. Suddenly, she began to feel constricted in the starched Academy uniform.  As Elisa loosened her necktie, she noticed the Door Man's gaze becoming more bold. He sat up straighter and looked down at her blouse. When she began to twist and fidget beneath his leer, he slowly bent over and tried to peek at her from under the table. A wave of fear, anger, and humiliation swept over Elisa. She jumped up from her seat, grabbed her backpack, threw a handful of money at the cash register and ran out the door, never returning to Johnny's Place again._

            The images streaming past her were all just a blur. Elisa kept running until she took a deep breath and realized the air tasted different. She slowed herself to a stop and realized she was only a block away from her old junior high school. Elisa looked over shoulder expecting to see Door Man chasing her from around the corner, even though she knew it was improbable. After she caught her breath, Elisa surveyed her surroundings.

            Old brownstone buildings were scattered on both sides of the street, and the laughter of children could be heard in the distance. The sky was brighter here, and the looming clouds had thinned into sheer ribbons of white. The air wasn't thick and moist; it smelled like dreams and lost memories. 

            Directly across the street from Elisa was a tiny general store. She remembered seeing movies set in some small Midwestern town with cozy houses that were shaped like this store. Elisa crossed the street, and she walked inside where the bright *_tinkle-jingle*_ of a bell announced her arrival. A stout, balding man looked up from behind the counter and did a quick double-take when he saw such an awkward teen in such a distinguished looking uniform. He smiled and said to her, "Hello there, young lady. Need help finding anything?"

            Elisa, feeling slightly unnerved at the man's kindness after she was treated so rudely, forced a small smile on her face. "No, thanks. Just looking."

            He nodded. "If you need anything, just ask." Elisa smiled brighter; it was less difficult to do so now. 

            Elisa went down one aisle and up another, exploring the items on the shelves. She couldn't tell if she was trying to clear her head, just stalling for time, or if she believed there was actually something she needed hidden amongst the boxes of Stove Top and Rice-a-Roni. Elisa walked along the side of the freezer cases against the back wall. Sitting in the corner, next to the open stockroom door and leaning against a mop bucket, was a teenage boy a couple of years Elisa's senior. He was curled up against the door frame with his attention focused intently on the comic book clutched in his hands. He wore an apron identical to the old man's, and if it wasn't for his bright red hair, he would have blended into the shadows of the storage room like a pale ghost. Elisa slowly approached the boy and watched him unnoticed for several seconds. She tilted her head to the side slightly. Her small movement blocked the light that the young man was using to read, and for the first time, he realized that he was being watched. He looked up and saw his reflection in the strange girl's quizzical brown eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but the _*jingle* of the door bell startled her voice out of her. The boy stood up quickly and turned to the door. He openly winced at the sound of the teenybopper customers' high-pitched giggling. He was about to escape into the stockroom, when he noticed the strange girl trying to find a way out for herself. He studied this exotic creature with her deep, doe-like eyes and thin, athletic form clothed in an impressive school uniform. He noticed the phoenix on the front of her blazer but he was careful not to let his gaze linger, lest she thought he was staring at her – although, in his opinion, there wasn't much to stare _*at*_. _

            "Do you know those girls?" the boy asked her. Elisa jumped at the sudden sound of his voice. 

            "Kinda," she answered. "We used to go to the same school. They would – "

            "Matthew!" the shopkeeper called him from the front of the store. "Would you assist these young ladies, please?"

            He sighed and resisted the urge to roll his eyes. With a sullen "Yes, sir" he approached the group of young women. The girls giggled and greeted him with a sing-song "Hiiiii, Mattheeeew!" Elisa's pizza was threatening to make its way up her throat. 

            Elisa slowly moved to the front of the store, but she still kept a safe distance. She watched in pity as the young man was made to fetch little trinkets and novelties for the giggling schoolgirls. Even from her vantage point behind a display of potato chips, the familiar scent of Elizabeth Arden perfume found its way to her nostrils. One of the girls happened to turn around and notice Elisa. A flash of recognition crossed her face and she whispered into the ear of the girl standing next to her. As the other girl turned around, her golden curls brushed the tops of her shoulders. She gasped. "Oh…my…God! Elisa Maza, is that you?"

            Elisa stepped away from the store display. "Yep," she replied. "Hello, Margo."

*_*Dun, dun, DUUUNNNN!!!* Heh heh…Chapter 2 coming soon! ^_~_


End file.
